In this bulletin:

• Surge in Afghan violence result of 'Al-Qaeda pressure on Taliban'
• President Karzai Summons the Commander of the Coalition Forces in Afghanistan for an Explanation about the Kandahar Incident
• Plaidoyer pour une mission - Le Devoir
• R E G I O N: EU warns Taliban of ‘bloody nose’
• NATO commander plays down spring offensive in Afghanistan
• Former Afghan intelligence chief held in Loralai
• Afghan governor questions arrest of two officials in Pakistan
• Crackdown in Bajaur; 40 Afghans held
• Afghan foreign minister rejects reports of mediation in Iran's nuclear dispute
• Food agency warns two million Afghan may face hunger
• Afghan exit strategy involves staying put until 2009: O'Connor
• PM hangs tough on Afghanistan - Calls deadly attack on civilians `unfortunate'But says Taliban made such tragedy inevitable
• New cell-phone company to start functioning soon: Minister
• Rail link pact with Iran on the cards
• MPs disapprove two SC members
• Former commander shot dead in Herat
• Afghan religious scholar killed in Ghazni Province
• Three Afghan truck drivers killed in ambush
• Two senior Taleban commanders arrested in Afghan Herat Province
• Two arrested on charges of UN staffers' killing
• Pakistan urges world community to help Afghanistan in eliminating poppy
• PHC cancels appointment of Fazl’s brother
• COMMENT: Kabul: the frequently asked questions
• The Taliban comeback: Losing Afghanistan

Surge in Afghan violence result of 'Al-Qaeda pressure on Taliban'

Kandahar (AFP) - An upsurge in violence in Afghanistan over the past week was the result of pressure on the Taliban from Al-Qaeda and other supporters, a provincial governor said, citing Afghan intelligence.

This included Al-Qaeda and other militants based in neighbouring Pakistan, said Asadullah Khalid, governor of Kandahar province, which has seen the bulk of the unrest.

"Al-Qaeda and certain countries were pressuring the Taliban to capture some ground, particularly in Kandahar, to claim their active presence," the governor said, citing Afghan intelligence presented to him. "The latest violence was more than the insurgency," Khalid told AFP Thursday.

Afghan officials regularly say the Taliban-linked insurgency is plotted by leaders of the movement who fled across the border into Pakistan with their Al-Qaeda allies when the Taliban government was toppled in 2001.

Pakistan and Afghanistan, both key allies in the US-led "war on terror", have recently been locked in a war of words over Taliban and other Islamic rebels operating along their common border.

Khalid said intelligence reports showed that "senior Taliban leaders" were living and training recruits in Pakistan, notably in the city of Quetta -- about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the border and opposite Kandahar.

Madrassas in Pakistan were recruiting men into the Taliban war, Khalid said, repeating an assertion often made in Afghanistan, including by President Hamid Karzai this week.

The ultra-Islamic Taliban movement was born in Kandahar province in the early 1990s eventually taking control of most of conflict-ravaged Afghanistan in 1996.

The governor said recent operations against Taliban militants by Afghan and coalition forces had crippled the rebel leadership in Kandahar. The security forces have claimed that more than 350 rebels have been killed in the south in the past week.

"I can tell you that their leadership body has been destroyed, at least in Kandahar," he said. Operations would continue against Taliban militants holding out in villages around Kandahar city, the Afghan military commander for the southern region said.

"We don't say there are not Taliban. They're still in some villages but we'll clear them one after another," General Rahmatullah Raufi said. Khalid admitted he did not have sufficient government forces to crack down on rebels.

"About police being weak, yeah. You're talking about good police, I'm telling you even we don't have enough bad police," he said. Kabul had allowed him 40 policemen for each district, some with a population of more than 2,000, he said.

Abdul Qaudar Noorzai, regional director for Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, said rife corruption had distanced people from the authorities which may explain some support for the Taliban.

And in some regions provincial officials turned a blind eye to the militants in exchange for peace, he said. "In some cases the district chiefs have had agreements with the Taliban that they will not attack," he said. "In return they could keep their positions."

President Hamid Karzai visited Kandahar on Thursday and called for calm amid the spiral in violence. "I swear to God, I'll bring security to you," he said at a meeting of elders in the city.

President Karzai Summons the Commander of the Coalition Forces in Afghanistan for an Explanation about the Kandahar Incident - Date of Release: 24 May 2006

Arg, Kabul – H.E. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, summoned Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, Commander of the Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, to his office for an explanation about the incident in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province this morning.

General Eikenberry gave the President a full account of the incident in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province and said “Last Sunday, the terrorists had taken up position in a village in Panjwayi district of Kandahar at midnight and began moving out of the village in a queue to carry out terrorist activities.”

“The Coalition Forces knew the terrorists were there, but did not take action to avoid civilian casualties. When the terrorists moved some distance away from the village, the Coalition Forces launched a military operation against them.”

“During the operation, our helicopters opened fire on the terrorists. The terrorists dispersed and fled into a nearby village and broke into people’s homes. The Coalition Forces entered the area to control the situation and secure the area. As soon as our forces entered the area, the terrorists began heavy arms fire on them.” 

According to General Eikenberry, unfortunately, during the mopping up operation there were some civilian casualties as well. We provided emergency medical assistance to the injured.

The President expressed his deep regret at the unfortunate death of innocent civilians and said “While the people of Afghanistan stand firmly with the international community in their effort to defeat terrorism, but it must be ensured that civilians are not affected during the operations.”

The President emphasized that civilians’ safety is a top priority for the Government of Afghanistan and every effort should be made to ensure their safety in any circumstance. 

The terrorists use people’s homes as a shield to hide themselves during anti-terrorist operations as a tactic and on the other hand they endanger civilians’ lives for their propaganda.

The President called on the noble and devout people of Afghanistan to resist the terrorists and not to allow them to use their homes as a shield and for other purposes.

Released by the Office of the Spokesman to the President

Plaidoyer pour une mission - Le Devoir

(French daily newspaper, Montreal) mardi 23 mai 2006 - Hélène BUZZETTI La Chambre des communes vient d'approuver un prolongement de la mission canadienne en Afghanistan jusqu'en février 2009. Dans un entretien accordé au Devoir, l'ambassadeur afghan au Canada, Omar Samad, justifie la présence du Canada dans son pays pour y poursuivre l'avancée démocratique .

Ottawa - «L'Afghanistan vaut la peine.» C'est par ce cri du coeur qu'Omar Samad espère convaincre les Québécois que la mission canadienne doit s'y poursuivre et que la population doit en être fière. Mais, depuis quelques semaines, au fur et à mesure que les cercueils rentrent au pays, que les politiciens s'entre-déchirent et que les taux d'approbation de cette mission chutent dans les sondages, la tâche de l'ambassadeur d'Afghanistan au Canada se complique. Omar Samad, 45 ans, tente de démontrer que la mission canadienne en Afghanistan mérite d'être prolongée.

La situation s'améliore dans son pays natal, qui pourrait même devenir ce modèle démocratique du Moyen-Orient que les Etats-Unis cherchent plutôt du côté de l'Irak, plaide-t-il. La tâche est difficile parce que, justement, il doit battre en brèche ces comparaisons constantes qu'établissent la population et les analystes entre l'intervention internationale en Afghanistan et le débarquement américain dans l'ancien fief de Saddam Hussein.

Et il doit surtout prouver que la mort de militaires canadiens constitue un juste prix à payer pour rétablir la loi et l'ordre dans cette partie du monde. «En Afghanistan, vous voyez un changement du noir au blanc pour les hommes, les femmes et les enfants», lance-t-il dans un français impeccable au cours d'une entrevue avec Le Devoir. «Il y a cinq ans, les enfants ne pouvaient pas aller à l'école. Aujourd'hui, on a plus de cinq millions de garçons et de filles qui profitent de l'éducation.

Il y a cinq ans, les femmes ne pouvaient pas sortir, travailler ou aller à l'école. Aujourd'hui, 68 Membres du Parlement sont des femmes. Cet Afghanistan est devenu un modèle pour le monde islamique d'un islam modéré, d'une démocratie afghane acceptable aussi pour la communauté internationale.» Des activités dangereuses Comme beaucoup de ses compatriotes, Omar Samad a quitté son pays en 1979. Il n'avait que 18 ans. «C'était lorsque les communistes avaient pris le pouvoir et juste avant que les soviétiques ne l'envahissent. Comme étudiant, je faisais partie d'un groupe anticommuniste. Mes activités m'ont mis en danger.» Ses parents lui demandent alors de partir.

Il se réfugie quelques mois en France, puis prend la route des Etats-Unis, où il étudie et s'impose comme commentateur et analyste de la situation afghane. Il est retourné en Afghanistan pour la première fois en décembre 2001, après que la communauté internationale eut décidé de déloger les talibans. «J'avais toujours considéré mon pays comme passant d'une étape de crise à l'autre. Mon pays avait besoin d'aide.» Après avoir été porte-parole du ministère des Affaires étrangères, il est parti de Kaboul pour Ottawa en septembre 2004.

M. Samad est le second ambassadeur en poste au Canada depuis la reprise des liens diplomatiques. Son modeste repaire au quatrième étage d'un petit édifice commercial tranche avec les luxueuses ambassades barricadées qui trônent rue Sussex et dans ses environs. A la réception, une affiche dessinée en huit tableaux fait l'éloge de l'exercice démocratique. La première illustration montre une ville sous les bombes, la dernière, un idyllique coucher de soleil derrière une ville en apparence assoupie. Entre les deux: des images de bureaux de scrutin, de rencontres de sages, de votes à main levée. «C'est une affiche destinée aux villages», explique le réceptionniste. C'était la première élection en 30 ans, tient-il à dire. «Les gens ne sont pas habitués.» Cette avancée démocratique,

l'ambassadeur en est fier. Et il supplie presque le Canada de rester là-bas afin de poursuivre le progrès. «Ce serait un très mauvais message, pour le monde entier, que ceux qui parlent de démocratie, de droits de la personne et de développement ne soient pas capables de s'engager dans un pays comme l'Afghanistan. Ce serait un signal de défaite et, pour cela, je pense qu'il faut continuer.» Patience! Le gouvernement afghan dont M. Samad est si fier s'est pourtant retrouvé au coeur d'une polémique, en mars dernier, lorsqu'un homme a été condamné à mort pour s'être converti de l'islam au catholicisme.

Les parlementaires canadiens ont protesté devant ce mépris flagrant de la liberté religieuse et la population a reproché à Ottawa de le cautionner par sa présence en Afghanistan. Le premier ministre Stephen Harper a téléphoné au président Hamid Karzaï pour lui exprimer ses «profondes inquiétudes». Quatre jours plus tard, Abdul Rahman était libéré. «Les gens, au Canada et en Occident, doivent comprendre que tout pays dans l'histoire a eu ces expériences de défi pour la démocratie, pour les droits religieux , rétorque l'ambassadeur. L'Afghanistan est une très jeune démocratie qui va avoir ce genre d'expériences et de défis devant elle. Mais on l'a résolue, la situation! C'est ça qui compte. C'est comme cela qu'on apprend, dans une démocratie. Ce n'est pas net et ce n'est pas parfait. C'est en souffrant et en luttant qu'on apprend à exercer la démocratie.» L'Occident, ajoute-t-il, doit comprendre que «nous combattons les Forces réactionnaires, extrêmes, les forces traditionnelles, et [que] ça va prendre du temps».

L'Afghanistan et non l'Irak La voix du gouvernement afghan à Ottawa ne tolère pas les comparaisons parfois établies entre la condition dans son pays et celle qui prévaut en Irak. «L'Irak est un cas très différent, et je le dis parce que les médias canadiens et québécois analysent la situation en Afghanistan en regardant vers l'Irak. L'Afghanistan n'est pas en voie d'irakisation», lance-t-il en reprenant la formule du collègue François Brousseau publiée dans nos pages, le 8 mai dernier. «Ce n'est pas un projet américain, et les Canadiens ne sont pas en Afghanistan à cause de la cause américaine ou pour elle. Ils sont en Afghanistan parce que nous, les Afghans, les avons invités à venir pour nous aider à stabiliser ce pays qui a été ruiné pendant 25 ans.» Certes, il comprend que la mission canadienne a réclamé son lot de vies humaines.

Dix-sept Canadiens sont morts en sol afghan, dont un diplomate, mais l'ambassadeur estime qu'il s'agit là «du prix à payer pour la liberté, pour la démocratie et pour la lutte contre le terrorisme». Omar Samad insiste: l'Afghanistan est devenu un repaire de terroristes parce qu'il a été abandonné et il faut continuer de se battre pour empêcher les talibans, dispersés depuis l'automne 2001, de revenir au pays. Mais il réclame aussi une lutte contre le terrorisme planétaire qui doit aussi se mener chez ses voisins, comme le Pakistan. Motus et bouche cousue Impossible, par contre, d'amener l'ambassadeur sur le délicat sujet de l'islam au Canada.

Que pense-t-il des demandes d'instauration de la charia en Ontario? Ou des femmes, à Montréal, qui réclament - et obtiennent – des heures de piscine réservées exclusivement au sexe féminin? N'y a-t-il pas là le germe d'un certain extrémisme qu'il faut contenir? Motus et bouche cousue. Tout ce qu'il dira, c'est que la diaspora afghane au Canada comprend la raison de la présence canadienne dans son pays et que ce sont plutôt d'autres musulmans qui instrumentalisent cette intervention pour servir leurs propres luttes. «Il y a des groupes musulmans au Canada qui regardent l'Afghanistan d'un prisme qui n'est pas afghan, ni canadien. Ils laissent entendre que tout ce qui se passe en Afghanistan, c'est à cause des Américains, que le Canada ne doit pas être en Afghanistan parce que c'est vu comme une invasion, une occupation, ce qui est totalement faux.

Ils se servent de l'Afghanistan pour d'autres luttes. Ils sont fâchés à cause du Moyen-Orient, à cause de l'Irak, à cause de leur interprétation islamique.» Les soldats canadiens auront-ils assez de deux années supplémentaires, jusqu'en février 2009, pour rétablir un semblant de stabilité en Afghanistan? Ou, au contraire, s'incrusteront-ils? L'ambassadeur refuse de jouer au «prophète». Il dira seulement ceci: «Nous savons qu'un jour, quand le pays sera calme et en paix, ce sera fini. Ils vont tous rentrer chez eux.»

R E G I O N: EU warns Taliban of ‘bloody nose’ – AFP/Daily Times

WASHINGTON: The European Union's Afghan envoy warned Taliban militants in Afghanistan to be prepared for a “bloody nose,” as additional European NATO forces deploy in the insurgent-wracked country.

The envoy, Francesc Vendrell, said Western forces were prepared to “take the bull by the horns” in confronting the rebels and would not withdraw until they stabilise the security situation in Afghanistan.

“There is larger Taliban activity than there was a couple of years ago. It is not good news. If the Taliban persists in such attacks they will get a bloody nose,” he told a news conference after meeting US officials.

There has been a spike in Taliban-linked violence this year and analysts believe the more organised and aggressive rebel force is making a stand before the impending expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces into the south of the country.

While the insurgency traditionally heats up as the weather warms, this year has seen some of the heaviest fighting since the Taliban were toppled in 2001, with nearly 300 people, most of them rebels, killed in a week of intense battles and suicide attacks. Vendrell also cautioned that European NATO forces should be prepared to take bigger casualties with the stepped up attacks by the Taliban.

“I have to say that it is possible that there will be greater casualties in this coming summer than there have been in the past,” he said.

“We are going to have a difficult summer but I think it is important that European countries realise ... that when we send military forces to difficult or dangerous areas, there may be casualties - much as we all try to avoid them.”

The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said in a report that NATO forces were likely to come under increased attack as the United States withdraws some of its troops from Afghanistan. “The Taliban, taking advantage of what they perceive to be an opportunity during the switch from US to NATO deployments, are likely to continue to increase their operational tempo - not least because they know that casualties amongst European NATO member states may mobilise domestic opinion in those states against 'the war',” the report said. Vendrell said “there is widespread but mistaken feeling” among the Taliban that the Europeans were going to be “softer” than the American troops and that “we will easily withdraw.”

He said NATO countries, including Britain and the Netherlands, had decided to send their troops to southern Afghanistan “to take the bull by the horns.”

“I think therefore that the good news is that at a time when in other post-conflict situations, the international community is looking for the exit, we are not looking for an exit in Afghanistan,” he said, in an apparent reference to Iraq. “In UN terms, this means ISAF is not only a peacekeeping force but also (with) peace enforcement powers,” he said, expressing regret that some had wrongly interpreted that ISAF could not use force if attacked. AFP

NATO commander plays down spring offensive in Afghanistan

By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes, EU ropean edition, Friday, May 26, 2006

ARLINGTON, Va. — The NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe acknowledged Thursday that Afghanistan is in the midst of a spring offensive, but he downplayed its seriousness and the possible resurgence of the Taliban.

“I don’t think what’s happening in one province is indicative of a countrywide trend,” said Marine Gen. James Jones on recent violence in southern Afghanistan. Fighting has left scores dead, including civilians.

Coalition troops in Afghanistan had anticipated an uptick in fighting this spring, Jones said. While violence in the Kandahar region bears hallmarks of the Taliban, Jones cautioned against concluding that Taliban is making a comeback, saying unrest in Afghanistan comes from many sources including narco-terrorists, warlords and criminals.

“Let me be clear that each group has access to IEDs. So an IED going off does not mean a radical Islamic organization. It could be anyone,” Jones said.

NATO is slated to take over the mission in Afghanistan later this year. Asked why some countries taking part in operations in Afghanistan could opt out of counterterrorism operations, Jones said not every nation in the alliance has to sign on for the same mission.

“The spectrum of operations in Afghanistan covers the gamut from defensive force protection all the way to the offensive counterterrorist operations,” Jones said.

But Jones noted that nations have always contributed NATO forces with “some strings attached,” and that can complicate matters. Contributing nations put so many restrictions on the use of their forces in Kosovo that Jones was prompted to ask NATO officials why the forces were even there, he said.

Ultimately, the various militaries in Kosovo were all able to get on the same page, Jones said. While NATO is “not quite there in Afghanistan,” the alliance has agreed that there will be no such restrictions on forces going into the south of that country, Jones said.

Former Afghan intelligence chief held in Loralai - By Malik Siraj Akbar – Daily Times 5.25.06

QUETTA: Pakistani law enforcement agencies arrested a former director of the Afghan secret service, former Kandahar governor and four other Afghans during a raid on a refugee camp in Loralai district on Wednesday.

Abdul Rashid, director of Afghanistan’s secret agency, and five of his companions were arrested in a raid on an Afghan refugee camp in the Zarr Karez locality, 30 kilometres from Quetta.

“They had entered Pakistan illegally and taken refuge in an Afghan refugee camp. Law enforcement agencies were tipped off, raided the camp and arrested Rashid and his five aides - Abdul Qadir, former governor of Kandahar province, Asadullah, Faizullah, Abdul Rauf and Ghulam Jiliani,” official sources told Daily Times, without giving deignations of the rest of the four people.

The authorities also claimed to have seized a huge quantity of Pakistani and foreign currency from those arrested.

Sources said that the former Afghan secret service director and his aides were involved in providing weapons and financial assistance to Baloch insurgents, adding that they were in Pakistan to fan insurgency.

“The arrests endorse Pakistani authorities’ statements that Afghanistan was behind the Baloch insurgency,” sources said. However, the Balochistan government had no information about the raid and the arrests. “The provincial government has no information about Rashid’s arrest,” said Raziq Bugti, spokesman for the Balochistan government.

Afghan governor questions arrest of two officials in Pakistan - Text of report by Afghan independent Tolo TV on 24 May

[Presenter] Pakistani police have arrested the head of the Zabol Tribal Affairs Department, and a member of Zabol's provincial council in Baluchistan. The governor of Zabol said the two officials had travelled to Baluchistan to attend a tribal gathering.

[Correspondent] In a telephone conversation, the governor of Zabol told Tolo television that there was a dispute over land ownership issues between the Shamolzai and Naser tribes. The two Afghan officials, who belong to the Naser tribe, had gone to Baluchistan to discuss how to settle the dispute.

[Zabol governor] They had a land dispute with the Shamolzai tribe. I told them to talk to their elders and to make a team so they could reach an agreement with the Shamolzai tribe. They therefore went to Baluchistan to meet Shamolzai elders and representatives.

[Correspondent] There are media reports that the Afghan officials have been arrested on charges of carrying out destructive activities. The governor of Zabol rejects such reports, adding that the officials were in Baluchistan to settle tribal dispute and to visit their families.

According to [Dilbar Jan] Arman, around 2m Afghan refugees are currently living in Pakistan, most of whom work inside Afghanistan but travel to Pakistan on holiday to visit their families. The Afghan consulate has also confirmed the detention of the two officials.

Crackdown in Bajaur; 40 Afghans held – Dawn -

KHAR, May 25: Political authorities have launched a crackdown on Afghan nationals in Bajaur Agency and arrested 40 people for residing in the area without legal documents, officials said.

They said the political authorities, backed by the Khasadar forces, conducted raids in agency headquarters Khar, Inayat Kali and Nawagi and held the 40 Afghans.

An official said the crackdown had been launched at the request of tribal elders, who had held Afghans responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation in the agency. He said the administration deported about 30 Afghans to their country on Wednesday.

Sources said the arrested Afghans did not posses travelling documents or valid registration cards being provided by the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

The government closed refugee camps in the Federally Administered Tribal Area, including Bajaur Agency, last year and asked all Afghans to leave the area.

A grand jirga held in Khar a few days ago had requested the political administration to expel all Afghans from the agency bordering Afghanistan’s troubled eastern Kunar province.

Afghan foreign minister rejects reports of mediation in Iran's nuclear dispute - Text of report by Afghan independent Tolo TV on 25 May

[Presenter] Foreign Minister Dr Dadfar-Spanta has said that relations between Afghanistan and Iran will always remain friendly and that Afghanistan will never be used as a base against Iran.

Dr Dadfar-Spanta also told journalists that Afghanistan did not want to mediate between America and Iran.

[Correspondent] The minister of foreign affairs had previously criticized any effort to establish nuclear facilities in the region without naming any specific country. He said there was no need for nuclear facilities as the region had enough water resources to be used for producing electricity.

Mr Dadfar-Spanta has rejected reports that Afghanistan would mediate between America and Iran, describing them as a misunderstanding created by the media. He said Afghanistan would only try to reduce tension in the region and it does not mean mediating between countries.

Rumours of Afghanistan's mediation in Iranian nuclear issue spread when Dr Dadfar-Spanta told reporters that, if asked, Afghanistan was ready to take part in discussions to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue.

President Hamed Karzai and minister of foreign affairs will visit Iran in the coming days to discuss establishment of a railway in Afghanistan and exchange of prisoners between the two countries. The two sides will also sign agreements of cooperation.

Food agency warns two million Afghan may face hunger - Text of report in English by Afghan independent Pajhwok news agency website

Kabul, 25 May: Facing a shortfall in funds, the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that over two million Afghans will face starvation in the coming months.

Speaking to reporters today, the WFP regional director for Asia, Anthony Banbury, said that the agency needed $15 million to provide food to those in need during the coming winter. If the amount is not provided, they will have to halt supplying 25,000 metric tonnes of food to distant areas in the country, he warned.

"Major reductions in our operations will not only endanger the health of millions of Afghans but also the country's fragile recovery and many of the gains made over recent years," Anthony Banbury said.

The worsening living conditions in African countries had caused a reduction of UN aid for Afghanistan, he said, adding, the problem was also caused because the donors' had shifted their interest to security issues.

"By undermining development, severe cuts could foster greater insecurity, something that many donors are spending vast amounts trying to prevent."

Charles Vincent, the WFP Country Director for Afghanistan, confirmed the problem. He told Pajhwok Afghan News that the residents of the remote and mountainous areas in north and northeast as well as a number of districts in Badakhshan, Badghis and Ghowr would face the risk of hunger.

Afghan exit strategy involves staying put until 2009: O'Connor - CHRIS MORRIS - Canadian Press

FREDERICTON — With the casualty toll mounting in Afghanistan and public support wavering, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor says the Canadian government's exit strategy from the war-torn country involves staying put until 2009 and then reviewing its options.

Mr. O'Connor was in the Fredericton area Thursday to visit nearby Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, but his goodwill visit to the training base was overshadowed by reports of a roadside blast north of Kandahar that injured five Canadian soldiers and an Afghan interpreter.

Mr. O'Connor likened Canada's commitment to Afghanistan to contract that must be honoured until it expires.

“People ask me about an exit strategy,” Mr. O'Connor said. “With NATO, we have what I would call a contract. We're about to go to NATO — based on the vote in Parliament — to say we will be in Afghanistan until February 2009. Then we'll make a judgment as to whether we continue in Afghanistan, downsize, upsize, leave or whatever.”

Canada currently has about 2,300 troops in Afghanistan. Parliament voted recently to extend the mission to 2009. The vote passed by a narrow margin. Meanwhile, Mr. O'Connor said recruitment for the Canadian Armed Forces remains a struggle.

While Canada can maintain its commitment to Afghanistan without difficulty, it has no military might to spare if another major mission arises. “We can maintain Afghanistan into the future as long as you can imagine at this size,” Mr. O'Connor said during his visit to the sprawling base.

“Our challenge is to undertake an equivalent-scale operation somewhere else in the world at the same time. If other crises arise on the planet we can address them, but we would be greatly challenged to have an army force the size of Afghanistan.”

Canada is already under pressure to send forces to Sudan, where the United Nations sent a team Thursday to prepare for a peacekeeping mission.

Last week, the UN Security Council resolved that a large UN force should take over peacekeeping in Darfur from the under-equipped African Union mission that has failed to end a three-year conflict. But Sudan has long resisted allowing UN peacekeepers into Darfur.

Romeo Dallaire, the former commander of the UN peacekeeping mission during the Rwandan genocide of 1994, has said Canada should send 1,500 troops into Darfur, or at least contribute 500 soldiers to a UN rapid-reaction brigade already operating in Sudan.

“Canada's role is to get off its butt and to do something and continue the effort that Prime Minister Paul Martin started when we went over and we decided to reinforce the African Union,” Mr. Dallaire said.

But Mr. O'Connor said he does not believe Canada will be called upon to help settle Sudan's civil war. “Indications from the UN are they're not going to ask us to send large numbers of troops,” he said. “They want the Africans to do it.”

Mr. O'Connor said the Canadian military will launch an aggressive recruiting campaign this fall. He said he wants to increase the Armed Forces by a total of 23,000 troops — 13,000 more in the regular forces and 10,000 in the reserve.

However, he said the forces lose about 5,000 people every year, so as many as 8,000 a year have to be recruited to start building the numbers. “The biggest problem in training is we don't have enough staff to train the recruits,” he said.

“That was caused by downsizing in the 1990s. Today, we are missing many sergeants, warrant officers and junior officers who should be in the training system. It is taking effort to overcome.”

PM hangs tough on Afghanistan - Calls deadly attack on civilians `unfortunate'
But says Taliban made such tragedy inevitable - May 25, 2006 BRUCE CAMPION-SMITH OTTAWA BUREAU

LONDON, Ont.—A coalition air strike that claimed civilian lives in Afghanistan is an "unfortunate accident" that could hurt the work of Canadian troops in the short-term, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says.

But the Prime Minister is standing firm on his government's newly extended commitment to Afghanistan, rebuffing a small number of protestors who gathered for Harper's visit here to demand that Canada's 2,200 troops be brought home from Kandahar.

"If Canada pulls out it would result not just in a humanitarian catastrophe but in a vicious and brutal dictatorship that we had before under the Taliban that nobody in that country wants to go back to," Harper said after a speech to the London Chamber of Commerce.

"Our soldiers over there are doing good work, they're doing it not just on behalf of Canada but on behalf of the Afghan people and I think the vast majority of Canadians support them in that work," he said.

Still, the work of allied troops has come under close scrutiny in recent days after an air strike aimed at a pocket of insurgents killed at least 16 civilians on Monday. The death toll prompted Afghan President Hamid Karzai to call for an inquiry into the U.S. bombing.

Yesterday, Harper sought to distance his government from the civilian casualties, noting that the Canadian military — while active in ground operations — isn't involved in aerial bombing missions.

As a result, Canada will not conduct its own probe of the incident, but Harper said the government would co-operate with an investigation by Afghan authorities.

"That seems the most appropriate course to me and if Canada has any relevant information, obviously we'll share that," said Harper, who today will be in Vancouver.

But he also suggested that the civilian deaths may be an inevitable toll of the Afghan conflict, where insurgents — growing bolder in recent weeks — have been deliberately mingling with residents.

"These are difficult circumstances. The Taliban does mix in with the civilian population and these are real problems," Harper said. It was on the Afghan issue that Harper yesterday gave one of his clearest signals yet that the Conservatives are chafing under their minority status in Parliament.

Parliament's narrow endorsement last week for extending Canada's Afghan mission by two years — a move opposed by New Democrats, the Bloc Québécois and many Liberals — was a "wake-up call" to the Conservatives as they marked their first 100 days in office, Harper said.

"We're off to a good start, but it will not be easy for we have a minority Parliament where support can shift, where the positions of the parties can change on a dime," Harper said.

He charged that the Bloc and Liberals — both long-time supporters of the Afghan mission — withdrew their support of "men and women in uniform" simply to oppose the Conservatives.

"On the day of the vote, they switched their positions," Harper told the lunch-time crowd. "It shows that in this minority Parliament, nothing is sacred, not even our troops and there is nothing you can take for granted," he said.

New cell-phone company to start functioning soon: Minister

KABUL, May 25 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The UAE-based Etisalat has become the fourth cell-phone company to get license to start its services in Afghanistan.

This was announced by Minister for Communications Amirzai Sangin during a news conference here on Thursday. Sangin was among members of the presidential entourage which returned from a two-day visit to the UAE the other day.

The minister said the company would begin its operations in the country in the coming six months. The company had paid $40.1 million to the government while it would invest $300 million in the country in the next three years.

He said the accord with Etisalat was inked during his recent visit to the UAE with President Hamid Karzai. He said the license was issued to the company to create an atmosphere of competition among cell-phone companies in the country.

"It was a positive step that a company, having a worldwide popularity, is investing in Afghanistan," he said. Presently, two cell-phone companies are operative in Afghanistan in the names of Roshan and Afghan Wireless Communication Company or AWCC. Another company Areeba had also got the license to start function.

The minister said Areeba Company would start functioning in Afghanistan within the next two months. In the meantime, the government-owned Afghan Telecom is already providing service to countrymen. Mustafa Basharat

Rail link pact with Iran on the cards

KABUL, May 24 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghanistan is likely to sign an agreement with Iran to extend the 124-kilometre railway track from Iran to Afghanistan's Herat City, officials said on Wednesday.

The pact is expected to be inked during President Hamid Karzai's two-day visit to the neighbouring country, which is scheduled for Friday.

Deputy Minister for Public Works Dr Wali Muhammad Rasuli told Pajhwok Afghan News signing of the pact would clamp the success of Karzai's trip to Iran. The track would be jointly constructed by the two countries, he said, adding 70 kilometres part of the track would be constructed by Iran.

If implemented, the proposed railway track would help improve transportation of goods between the two countries and the rest of the region. "This will be the cheapest transit route when completed," Rasuli claimed.

Although the government had not allocated budget for laying the railway line on this side, the president would ask Iran to complete part of the track on that side of the border, he explained. He added the same route would be later extended to Kandahar and Spin Boldak, bordering Pakistan. Zainab Muhammadi

MPs disapprove two SC members

KABUL, May 24 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The lower house of parliament on Wednesday approved two of the four members of the Supreme Court (SC) nominated by President Hamid Karzai last month.

Maulvi Muhammad Qasem and Muhammad Aleem Nasimi got 124 and 109 votes respectively of the 211 members present during the session. The other two nominees Muhammad Omar Mohmand and Shah Ali Asghar Shahristani could not manage to get majority votes. They ended up with 71 and 92 votes respectively.

Nine people were nominated by President Hamid Karzai as SC members. Three of them were nominated for four years, three for seven and three others for ten years period. Under the Constitution, it is mandatory for the nominees to get vote of confidence from the parliament.

Voting for the remaining five nominees, including the existing Chief Justice of Afghanistan Fazal Hadi Shinwari, has been stalled due to reservations of MPs about their requisite educational qualifications and dual citizenship of some of them.

Earlier, hectic debate was held in the parliament on age limit for the judges; however, the issue was later resolved and the MPs agreed to allow more than 65 year age for SC judges. There was also clash of views among the parliamentarians on the voting process and the decision of successful

candidates which was later resolved.

Without considering the rejected votes, speaker of the House Younus Qanuni made it clear this morning that decision would be made on the basis of 51 per cent yes or no votes. Zubair Babakarkhail

Former commander shot dead in Herat

HEART CITY, May 24 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Unidentified armed men gunned down a former jihadi commander in the western city of Herat last night.

Malim Ghani, a loyalist of former Ghor governor and jihadi commander Dr Ibrahim, was shot dead by armed men in the Bad-i-Marghan area of the fourth district of the city last night.

The assailants already crouched in the area, sprayed Ghani's car with bullets as he was passing through the area around 8pm.

Noor Khan Nekzad, press office in charge of the provincial police headquarters, told Pajhwok Afghan News the killing was the result of personal enmity.

Nisar Ahmad Pekar, in charge of the crime branch, said investigations had been launched and police were trying to identify and arrest the culprits.

A few days back, another commander Amanullah was seriously injured in a similar attack in the province. Ahmad Ihsan Sarwaryar

Afghan religious scholar killed in Ghazni Province - Text of report in English by Afghan independent Pajhwok news agency website

Ghazni city, 25 May: Suspected Taleban kidnapped and gunned down a religious scholar in Andar District of southern Ghazni province, officials said on Thursday.

Lahor Khan Wafadar, district chief of Andar, told Pajhwok Afghan News unidentified gunmen abducted Mawlawi Fazl Rahman on Wednesday while on his way home after attending a ceremony at a madrasah in Kandikhel village.

The deceased was a resident of (?Waghaz) District. He was later killed by the miscreants, he added. Condemning his killing, the district chief blamed Taleban for the dastardly act.

He also said Mawlawi Fazl Rahman was representative of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in his native Waghaz District.

Introducing himself as Hilal and a Taleban fighter, a caller told Pajhwok's correspondent in Ghazni they were responsible for the killing. A few days back, a former governor of southeastern Paktika Province was killed in a similar fashion by the insurgents.

Three Afghan truck drivers killed in ambush

KABUL, May 25, 2006 (AFP) - Three Afghan truck drivers were killed when their convoy was ambushed by militants in restive southeastern Afghanistan, the US-led coalition said Thursday.

The three-truck convoy was going from Bagram Airfield north of Kabul to a coalition base in Wazi Khwa district of Paktika province Wednesday when it was attacked, spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Paul Fitzpatrick said.

The attackers used small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades which killed three of the drivers, another survived and one was missing, Fitzpatrick said in a statement.

The survivor drove his heavily-damaged truck with the bodies of two of his colleagues to a military base used by coalition troops, he said.

"These people have no regard for innocent human life, killing fellow Afghans," the colonel said referring to the remnants of Taliban militia who are waging an insurgency in south and southeastern parts of Afghanistan.

"A coalition quick reaction force arrived at the scene and discovered two of the trucks had been set on fire.  They recovered the body of a 15-year-old; the search continues for the missing driver," Fitzpatrick said.

Afghanistan has in the past week seen some of the worst fighting since the fall of the Taliban, as the militia steps up its four-and-a-half-year insurgency, backed by other Islamic outfits including Al-Qaeda.

There are more than 30,000 foreign troops from nearly 40 countries in Afghanistan to help the government put down the revolt and extend its authority to stabilise the country, which has suffered conflict for the past 30 years.

Two senior Taleban commanders arrested in Afghan Herat Province - Text of report by Afghan newspaper Pagah on 25 May

Herat security forces say they have arrested two senior Taleban commanders who have been organizing terrorist acts in southeastern Afghanistan. Addressing a press conference yesterday, Herat Governor Sayed Hosayn Anwari told reporters that the commanders had been detained on charges of missile attack against a vehicle carrying staff of UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund [on Herat-Badghis main road] recently.

The two commanders are Mawlawi Sayed Mohammad, a provincial official during the Taleban's era, and Mawlawi Najmoddin, the head of [Taleban] intelligence service. Both commanders have been involved in the missile attack on the UNICEF vehicle on 22 Sawr [12 May].

It is worth noting that a number of unidentified armed men launched a missile attack on a vehicle belonging to UNICEF in Karokh District on a road linking the district to Herat city some two weeks ago, killing two employees on board and injuring one. Over the past few months, this is the first time the Herat provincial officials report the arrest of two Taleban commanders in this province.

Two arrested on charges of UN staffers' killing

HERAT CITY, May 24 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Police in the western Herat province claimed arresting two suspects for their involvement in killing of two United Nation Children's Fund (UNICEF) staffers about 15 days back.

Two Afghan staffers of the UNICEF were killed and one sustained injuries on May 12 in a rocket attack on their vehicle while traveling on Herat - Badghis Highway.

Addressing a news conference here on Wednesday, Herat Governor Sayed Hussain Anwari said intelligence officials apprehended Malvi Said Mohammad and Mulla Najmuddin in the border region of Karukh district with two rockets.

He said commander of the Taliban in the area Mulla Biradar had recently appointed one of the two detainees as in charge of their military wing in the Badghis province.

The governor said the security agencies had also recovered an ammunition depot containing 560 RPG rockets near the Herat airport.
Ahmad Ihsan Sarwaryar

Pakistan urges world community to help Afghanistan in eliminating poppy - Text of report by Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency

Islamabad, 25 May: Minister of Information and Broadcasting Muhammad Ali Durrani has urged the world community to assist the Afghan government in eliminating cultivation of poppy.

Speaking in a PTV programme he said, there are reports about massive poppy cultivation in Afghanistan which will have a adverse impact not only in Pakistan but on the entire world.

He said, Pakistan has succeeded in eliminating cultivation of this crop from its territorial limits including the tribal areas.

There is a porous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan so a foolproof check on trafficking of drugs is not possible the Minister said adding it has a adverse affect here.

He said Pakistan has discussed this issue with the Afghan government on many occasions in the past. Durrani said that almost all extremist activities that took place in Pakistan have links in Afghanistan which is a matter of concern for both sides.

He regretted that statements were coming from the Afghan side despite the fact that Pakistan has always cooperated with that country for restoration of peace and stability.

The people of Pakistan and Afghanistan have deep rooted historic relations having a lot of common issues, he said.

PHC cancels appointment of Fazl’s brother Staff Report

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday nullified the appointment of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s brother to the Commissionerate of Afghan Refugees and reinstated the petitioner.

A division bench consisting of Justice Mohammad Raza Khan and Justice Raj Mohammad Khan reinstated Major (r) Fayyaz Durrani as the CAR project director (repatriation). Ziaur Rehman, the brother of the MMA secretary general, had replaced the petitioner by the order of the NWFP chief secretary. He said that he could not be removed from his position by the order of a provincial government official because appointments to the CAR could not be made without the SAFRON ministry’s consent. He said that the position he held was a UNHCR-funded post.

The ministry of SAFRON admitted that Rehman’s appointment was against the prescribed rules and regulations and that it had not given approval for Durrani’s replacement. Rehman told the court that Durrani’s appointment to the CAR was illegal.

COMMENT: Kabul: the frequently asked questions — Tanvir Ahmad Khan

It may just be too late for Musharraf to obtain better and sustainable terms of engagement from more powerful stakeholders in the Afghan situation; he has just been left behind by the tide of events. History alone will be the reliable judge of whether he was equal to the daunting task of framing an effective Afghan policy after the debacle of 2001

A frequently asked question in Islamabad at the moment is whether the forthcoming visit to Pakistan of the Afghan foreign minister, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, would bring to an end a tense period of allegations and counter-allegations. The unsavoury exchanges have intensified and become more frequent since the Bush visit. Since there are also fairly frequent affirmations of the imperative of geo-political and economic inter-dependence between the two countries — the famous land bridge — the rationale behind the verbal duels becomes particularly baffling.

Occasionally, the tone and tenor seem to go far beyond the irritations of the moment and betray a fundamentally different view of the history of bilateral relations. President Hamid Karzai knows Pakistan well. So when he declares that Islamabad will never be able to determine once again the fate of the Afghan people, one wonders about his understanding of the past and if his misgivings are amenable to an easy solution.

Speaking of the current irritants, how far is Pakistan responsible for an undeniable deterioration of the security situation in Afghanistan? The Taliban and their allies from the erstwhile mujahideen are making a larger effort than at any time since 2001 to destabilise the Karzai government and impose a heavier toll on the foreign troops shoring it up. There are set-piece battles, a more extensive use of terror tactics including improvised explosive devices, and more suicide attacks. None of this would be possible without a degree of tacit support from the people, especially in Afghan provinces fairly removed from the common border with Pakistan.

It is part of the conventional wisdom about the post-Taliban Afghanistan that its people are weary of war and long for an opportunity to rebuild shattered lives. The question now is if the Afghans face a crisis of hope, is there more disenchantment with the reconstruction programme that the insurgents exploit? Is there greater disappointment with the political process, which has failed to end exploitation of the people by the warlords? Are the foreign forces increasingly seen as the ultimate protectors of the corruption seeping through the new economic system?

Be it as it may, resistance to Kabul seems to be acquiring a new dimension beyond the Pushtun sense of dispossession. Growing social discontent seems to fuel the ethnic and religious war against the infidel.

Kabul’s criticism of Pakistan as a sanctuary for the insurgents is routinely reinforced by outside commentators. It is not just a middle-ranking British officer, promptly disowned in a press release of the British High Commission in Islamabad; it is also the US ambassador for counter-terrorism accusing Pakistan of training the insurgents.

NATO’s deployment in Afghanistan needs continuing Pakistani cooperation. Yet, Chris Patten, a veteran of European Union diplomacy declares that there would never be peace in Afghanistan unless there is a regime change in Pakistan. Ironically, it is the Pakistan Army that dragged a reluctant Pakistani nation into playing the role of a frontline state in exterminating the Al Qaeda and its allies.

Is the carping criticism just a pressure tactic to make the Pakistani Army work harder or a deliberate exposure of its ambivalence about the Afghan insurgency? In Pakistan, there is a growing feeling that the invasion lost its plot somewhere along the line and that its army was increasingly asked to reinforce a failure.

Since the Bush visit, regional observers have noted that the United States has invited India to play the role of the politically most favoured nation in Afghanistan. Indian analysts confide informally that widespread hostility to Pakistan, whipped up during the electoral processes envisaged under the Bonn accord, created unexpected opportunities to revive India’s influence in the new Afghan republic.

Just as 80,000 troops were dispatched by President Pervez Musharraf to counter the Taliban threat to disrupt presidential and parliamentary elections, at the expense of hundreds of Pakistani lives, electoral campaigns inside Afghanistan berated Pakistani interventionism as the main source of the people’s suffering. This campaign has never ended.

According to Afghan friends, it was commonplace to condemn Pakistan’s doctrine of strategic defence and its wilful preference for fundamentalist factions fighting the Soviet Union at the expense of Tajiks, Panjsheris and royalists. This popular factor, according to Afghan and Indian sources, enabled India to set higher targets for its diplomacy. At the same time, the United States reached the conclusion that India would be a safer bet than Pakistan in the long-term reconfiguration of power in the region. The alleged ambivalence of President Musharraf’s government may well be rooted in similar assessments made by its vast intelligence apparatus, particularly if it also believes in a growing collusion between New Delhi and Kabul in fomenting insurgency in Balochistan.

The air will not be cleared by ritual assertions of eternal brotherhood made during the visit of the Afghan foreign minister. Pakistan has to make an honest effort to reach a shared vision of future with the Karzai government. Since it functions under foreign occupation, Pakistan also has to settle some broad regional objectives with the United States and now NATO. Its basic policy since 2001 has been to demonstrate its unquestioned loyalty to Washington’s war with an almost pathetic narration of statistics testifying to its performance.

Clearly, Pakistan needs to recover an authentic voice of its own, the voice of a sovereign, responsible and effective state that knows what it is doing. In the country’s capital, there are clearly two points of view. One, President Pervez Musharraf can still do it and thus restore primacy of national interest in his Afghan policy.

Two, sad though it may be, it is just too late for him to obtain better and sustainable terms of engagement from more powerful stakeholders in the Afghan situation; he has just been left behind by the tide of events. History alone will be the reliable judge of whether he was equal to the daunting task of framing an effective Afghan policy after the debacle of 2001.

The writer is a former foreign secretary. He can be reached at tanvir.akhan@gmail.com

The Taliban comeback: Losing Afghanistan - By Amin Saikal International Herald Tribune, WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2006

CANBERRA The dramatic upsurge in fighting in recent days in Afghanistan leaves a serious question over the return of peace and stability to Afghanistan. The Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai and its international backers, who have not been able to contain the Taliban opposition after nearly five years of strenuous effort, must be wondering where they have gone wrong.

Karzai has blamed Pakistan, and the U.S. and British governments have also intimated that Pakistan has not done enough to prevent the Taliban from carrying out cross-border raids. Pakistan has rejected these allegations and has called on the Afghan president to put his own house in order.

Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, has repeatedly affirmed his position as America's full partner in the war on terrorism, his unqualified support for the Karzai government and his total lack of interest in reviving Pakistan's past support for the Taliban in order to use Afghanistan as "strategic depth" in the event of a conflict with India.

This affirmation has not been reflected, however, in the reality of the situation on the ground. Western intelligence analysts widely believe that without assistance from Pakistan, and the use of sanctuaries there, the Taliban could not have regained their composure to the extent that are now able to challenge the Afghan Army and the international coalition forces in serious pitched battles, which have cost of hundreds of casualties on both sides over the last week alone.

While Musharraf may be personally committed to a policy of noninterference in Afghanistan, he cannot claim the same for Pakistan's military intelligence, known as the ISI, which functions as a government within the government, and the radical Islamic political forces that dominate Pakistan's Northwest Frontier and Baluchistan provinces, on the border with Afghanistan.

Several ISI officers, and their supporters in the Pakistani government and radical Islamic circles, are said to have been deeply disgruntled with the "loss" of Afghanistan when the Taliban regime fell. These forces believe that sooner or later the coalition troops will leave, opening the way for Afghanistan's future to be determined by its neighbors.

In such an event, they want Pakistan to be well positioned to protect its strategic interests and to prevent other regional actors, especially Iran and India, from gaining a vital foothold. Like the Taliban, they are emboldened by U.S. failures in Iraq and the U.S. announcement that it would withdraw up to 4,000 troops from Afghanistan as soon as NATO has expanded its troop deployment from 10,000 to 15,000 over the next two months. They are further encouraged by an assumption that NATO's commitment to Afghanistan cannot be open-ended, given the reluctance of many of its member states to get involved in a long-term conflict.

Meanwhile, Karzai's government has remained weak. It has made little headway in expanding its writ beyond Kabul and fulfilling the expectations of a majority of the Afghan people to run a clean and efficient administration and improve their living conditions. Together with the Afghans' historical opposition to outside impositions, this has left many Afghans - particularly in the Taliban heartland in the south - very vulnerable not only to poppy cultivation and drug trafficking, but also to financial incentives to join the ranks of the Taliban.

None of these problems will be overcome unless the Afghan government and its international backers engage in a marked change in policy. First, Karzai has to create a credible and effective administration, free of the corruption and nepotism that have dogged it so far. Second, America and its allies need to invest much more in national reconstruction and security.

Third, the long and treacherous Afghan-Pakistan border needs to be secured. This require America and its allies to deploy sufficient forces, equipped with the necessary means, and to prompt Pakistan to renegotiate the border with clear demarcation - a major point of dispute between Afghanistan and Pakistan ever since the creation of the latter in 1947.

Fourth, America needs to reprioritize its strategic interests. It cannot fulfill its promise of bringing stability, security and reconstruction to Afghanistan while at the same time treating Pakistan softly as a major non-NATO strategic ally.

Without these measures, the Afghan situation will unravel further, with serious implications for not only the war on terrorism, but also for U.S. policy in Iraq and its position in the region as a whole.

Amin Saikal is a professor of political science and director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University.

[Disclaimer: The content of this news bulletin does not necessarily reflect the view or policy of the Afghan Government, unless specifically stated as such. The collection of articles and commentaries from Afghan and international news sources is provided for informational purposes, and accuracy of the news is the responsibility of the original source.]